Rules for Approved Entries on h2g2

In order for an entry to be considered for 'Approved' status on h2g2, it must meet the following minimal criteria.

1. It must be original work. Plagiarism is unacceptable.

2. It must abide by our House Rules. It must not be written with any malicious or hurtful intention.

3. In the judgment of h2g2's users, the work must meet a reasonable subjective aesthetic standard, based in part on the suggestions below.

Suggestions

If you are interested in receiving 'Approved' status for your entry, these criteria may be useful. These must be viewed as suggestions, rather than hard-and-fast rules. An entry may be acceptable while contravening one, or many, of these suggestions.

1. You should have a clear intent or purpose for your entry. This will determine what the entry should look like. Your entry should fulfill this intent as much as possible. For instance, entries intending to inform should be factual and well-researched, but entries whose purpose is not informative have no factual requirement. Entries intending to amuse should be amusing. The entry itself should make this intent clear, whether implicitly or explicitly.

2. Choose a topic carefully. You should write about something that interests you, or a topic that you can offer a unique perspective on. No two accepted entries should be based on the same intent. It is acceptable to write an entry on a previously covered topic, provided that the new entry offers a different perspective, style or personal quality. Exceptions are also allowed for entries intending to replace or update an existing approved entry with the same intent.

3. Your entry should be readable and reasonably accessible to a general audience. This means that formatting, spelling, grammar and length should all be appropriate to your entry's purpose. For instance, Welsh Sojourn contains a rare example of an entry's intent making normal spelling inappropriate. In almost all other cases, correct spelling and grammar are expected. Depending on the subject and intent of the entry, the entry may be as short as The Face Mite or as long as Microbes - the Good They Do.

4. Use your own style. There are great entries written in both traditional and experimental styles. Use a style that you are comfortable with, and that suits the intent and subject-matter of your entry. Winter Birds of the Niagara Gorge uses a unique and appropriate style to create an exceptional piece of writing.

5. Consider the suggestions of others. A writer is the ultimate judge of the value of reviews and suggestions, but an entry can almost always benefit from the advice of other h2g2 users. Part of the experience of h2g2 involves having your work edited and criticized. However, h2g2 will never force a writer to make changes he or she finds unacceptable (with the exception of plagiarism and House Rules violations, as noted above) and they may withdraw their entry from consideration at any time. In some circumstances, failure to adopt reasonable suggestions may negatively affect an entry's suitability for publication.